How To: Formal Thanksgiving Table Setting

For the planners out there, the birth of November means it’s time to start preparing for the pinnacle of all food holidays: Thanksgiving! Get your home décor now, and start planning your seating chart for the perfect Thanksgiving feast.

Start your Thanksgiving prep by sending out some Holiday themed invitations to your attendees. Once you have your RSVP list, you can start buying the essentials for the dinner setting.

Once you have your guest list intact, decide a color theme for your table. Stick with more natural colors such as greens and browns, or reds and golds to compliment the Fall season. Now that you have a color theme, you can pick out your linens! Yay! Pick out some nice cloth napkins, and make sure to accent your napkins with some sort of napkin ring. Try something like twine for a more rustic feel. Now decide between either a table cloth or a table runner, whatever you think will work best with your dining table. A table cloth will can change the whole mood of the setting depending on what pattern or color you decide on; a runner offers a dramatic frame for a decadent centerpiece, if that is the route you’d prefer.

Once your linens are picked out, bring out that fine china. Most likely, you already have your fine china locked in a cupboard somewhere, so just dust that off and set it up. If you are looking to purchase some fine china, definitely go with some white dinnerware for its timelessness.

Next, pick out your glassware. For a formal dining setting, you’re going to want multiple cups, a wine cup, a water cup, and sherry glass. For water cups we suggest the Cupture Everyday Tumblers. This set of 8 comes in four gorgeous natural colors and have a French inspired design, perfect for a more formal setting. And for the sherry cups, check out the Cupture Small Cups in all white, the ceramic look and feel of these cups will match your dinnerware and be the perfect all white accessory.

Now, all you need is to add your finishing touches. Pick out the flowers and accessories you want for your centerpiece, and craft to your hearts content. You can find materials for this at your local farmers market, craft store, or even your backyard. Gather your choice items and create a classic cornucopia or, go for a rustic, textured vase. Add some (unscented) candles for mood lighting. For an extra special touch, add some personalized place cards for your guests. Get creative with this! You can make place card holders out of almost anything.

Now that you have purchased all of the elements you need for your picturesque formal Thanksgiving dinner, just put it all together! Check out the chart above on how to set up your cutlery and dinnerware, and this tutorial on how to create your own cornucopia. Click here for the Everyday Tumbler set, here for the White Small Cup set. And don’t forget to have a wonderful Thanksgiving.